Brecon Beacons National Park Changes Name as ‘Giant Burning Brazier Is Not a Good Look’

The summit of Cribyn mountain as seen from Pen y Fan, in Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, on July 12, 2016. (Yui Mok/PA Media0

The Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales has changed its name, which its management says goes against the climate-friendly ethos of the park.

On Monday, the park formally dropped its well-known English name in favour of the Welsh name of Bannau Brycheiniog National Park, or the Bannau for short.

Bannau is the Welsh plural for peaks and Brycheiniog refers to the old kingdom of King Brychan, who lived in the fifth century.

The park’s managers said the present name referencing wood-burning, carbon-emitting beacons no longer fits the ethos of the park.

The name change was welcomed by the Welsh nationalist Plaid Cymru party, but the Welsh Conservatives have questioned the cost and impact of the “symbolic” rebrand.

‘Leadership on Decarbonisation’

Catherine Mealing-Jones, the park’s CEO, said: “Given that we’re trying to provide leadership on decarbonisation, a giant burning brazier is not a good look.

“Our park is shaped by Welsh people, Welsh culture, and as we looked into it, we realised the brand we’ve got and the name we’ve got, it’s a bit of a nonsense, it doesn’t really make any sense—the translation Brecon Beacons doesn’t really mean anything in Welsh.

“We’d always had the name Bannau Brycheiniog as the Welsh translation and we just felt we needed to put that front and centre as an expression about the new way we wanted to be celebrating Welsh people, Welsh culture, Welsh food, Welsh farming—all of the things that need to come with us as we go through this change in the management plan.”

The new plan was launched on Monday, the 66th anniversary of the park’s national designation.

It seeks to restore tree cover, wetlands, hedgerows, peaty bogs, and wildflowers to attract wildlife while introducing localised renewable energy sources like small wind turbines.

People will be encouraged to farm in a way that benefits nature, such as restricting grazing to certain areas, leaving a cover crop over winter for birds to eat, and not spreading manure or fertiliser where it could contaminate watercourses.

But Mealing-Jones acknowledged that “people are used to calling the park by the name everyone’s used for 66 years so we don’t expect everyone to use Bannau Brycheiniog, at least straight away.”

‘Reclaim Our Heritage’

Welsh actor Michael Sheen, star of “The Damned United” and “Good Omens,” filmed a promotional video to celebrate the name change, with words written by poet and author Owen Sheers.

Sheen said he welcomed the “reclamation of the old Welsh name—an old name for a new way of being.”

Plaid Cymru, which holds four of the 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, applauded the move, calling it “positive step in normalising the use of Welsh.”

“In reclaiming our original Welsh names, we can reclaim our heritage, which is vital if we want our language to continue to play a role in Wales’s future,” a spokesperson for the party said.

It’s the second national park in Wales to be renamed in the Welsh language, with Snowdonia being renamed Eryri last year.

According to the 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged 3 or older was 538,300 (17.8 percent), and nearly three quarters of the population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills.

‘Symbolic’

The Conservatives have criticised the name change, calling it a symbolic attempt to look “trendy” which could undermine the region’s international identity.

Fay Jones, the Conservative MP for Brecon and Radnorshire, questioned the cost and impact of the rebrand and demanded to know why local people were not consulted.

“I’m amazed that a change of name should be imposed on those who live and work in the National Park without any consultation,” she said.

“I am worried that this is symbolic. This is about looking trendy and jumping on a sustainability bandwagon for PR purposes.”

She added that the Welsh name could be used alongside the English name.

Welsh Tory leader Andrew RT Davies said: “The Beacons are as recognisable outside of Wales as they are here. Why undermine that?”

David Davis, the senior Tory MP for Haltemprice and Howden, wrote on Twitter: “As far as virtue signalling goes, changing the name of the Brecon Beacons is one of the more bonkers ideas I’ve heard in some time.

“Do the park authorities not realise the massive re-printing and re-signing exercise needed when changing well established names—all of which will be carbon generating?”

Downing Street said it expected people to carry on using the Brecon Beacons name.

“The public, I’m sure, will continue to use both the English and the Welsh names,” Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s official spokesman said.

Asked if other places called “beacon” should be renamed, the spokesman said, “I think on the specific issue of climate change, I think it’s tangible action that’s important, rather than nomenclature.”

PA Media contributed to this report.